Skip to main content

On Being Happy (Part One)

Does happiness sit in a bottle on my shelf?

Can I find what I’m looking for in a manufactured pill?

Does happiness come if I alter what's inside of me, what I can't see and feel unable to control?

Or, does happiness come with the things I buy? The car I drive and the clothes I wear? The house I live in and the way I decorate it?

Would I feel better if I could just buy happiness?

Or, is the size and shape of my happiness dictated by the size and shape of my body? Would I be happier if I were skinnier or prettier? Would I be happier if my nose were smaller, my breasts fuller and my tummy tighter?

Is happiness found in success, in professional achievement or academic accolades? Is being happy getting an A and getting a corner office?

Or, is happiness being present in every moment, especially for my girls? Would I be happy if I knew I could pick them up from school every day, if I didn't get the sweats thinking about when the school nurse calls me to pick them up, or if I didn't lose sleep over the elaborate child-care schematic I create every month?

Could I be happy if I were the most popular mom on the block? If everyone liked me and wanted to spend time with me, you know, like on any given night, not just to spend money at their product party?

Would I smile more, and breathe easier, if I started thinking that the glass was half full instead of half empty? Would I feel less empty if my brain, my thoughts, my anxiety, wasn’t so full?

Or, is happiness packaged within gratitude? Would I feel less like jumping out of my skin if I were more grateful for this life I have and the people who surround me each day with love and sympathy and compassion? Would I feel happier if I stopped complaining about having no shoes because I saw the man who had no feet?

One day, I asked a person I love deeply a simple question: what do you want from me?

They replied with a simple answer: I want you to be happy.

I said I agree.

Happy. Happiness. Be happy.

So simple.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TomKat or AndMel?

Over the weekend I had "my hour". Sixty whole minutes at the gym including 30 on the new treadmill and the latest In Style magazine to read while I sweat it out to my itunes. I happily flipped and thumped along, checking out the latest hand bags and arm cuffs until I got to an article about Katie Holmes. I had to flip back and forth several times to admire one of my favorite Hollywood pieces of eye candy. How can she and I have children almost the same age and she can look like that and have run a marathon this year? No matter what we all tell ourselves about celebs, we still envy them or just can't help but stare at their image in a magazine and read all about how they've found themselves via religion, rehab or marriage to Tom Cruise. My favorite part of the article was Katie recalling Suri's birth story. She says something about how supportive Tom was by placing candles and picture frames around the room. That's helpful? If Andy was lighting candles during ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spoiler Alert!

It's no big shock that I opened my mouth and got myself in trouble earlier this week. This time it was my virtual mouth, and we all know that can be the worst. Saying something stupid, online, is like spreading a highly contagious virus. Speaking of which, with all of my recent coughing and sneezing, I've been really good at spreading a germy virus around. I teach students to be social media savvy, and gosh darn it, I did so as recent as yesterday. I provide them with some rules to protect them from looking like a virtual ass, but low and behold, I fall victim to assiness every once in a while. How am I supposed to know every single rule in life, and particularly online? I'm just a simple human being, with a big mouth, who wants to over share! So, here's what went down, if you didn't get pissy pants over my FB faux pas. I watched the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead on Sunday night. Andy was in the can and I just needed to talk about the episode. I needed t...
2 comments
Read more

LAX

Some people may think that Andy and I are "lax" parents. Our house isn't a free range farm by any means, although just throwing food on the ground, and letting the kids wander around and pick it up when they are hungry, sounds pretty enticing. It's true that we aren't the strictest parents and that, regularly, there is mutiny on the bounty and we are held hostage by little pirate people. The drill sergeant in our house is 3 feet tall and belts outs commands like, "Get me a drink!", "Turn on Netflix!", or "You will not wash my hair!" while wearing only a pullup, squinting her eyes, and pointing an accusatory finger in our direction. Our kids are often in charge. I'm not going to lie to you. The dog may also be in charge from time to time. That's just the way it goes. As more and more of our peers have a third child, we are, unfortunately, asked if we, too, plan to expand. Are these people insane in the membrane? Have they been...
2 comments
Read more